


almost.

by EnviousEcho



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Past Lives, Pirate and Siren AU, honestly i'm surprised there wasn't one already, onesided shane/ryan, pirate shane, siren ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 18:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18878737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnviousEcho/pseuds/EnviousEcho
Summary: "There's something in the water," says Sara, her eyes shining as she hands over the spyglass.Almost as soon as Shane spots the creature, it disappears - but not before he catches a flick of its golden tail. Heartbeat quickening, he thrusts the spyglass back at Sara and hollers down from the crow's nest, "Siren sighted!"





	almost.

**Author's Note:**

> what up fellow mortals here is the pirate/siren au nobody asked for  
>   
> i wrote this like last year (before the try guys left buzzfeed which is why ned shows up) and never felt like it was good enough to post, but now it's mermay so i decided, fuck it, i'll move ahead with subjecting you all to my shit (◕‿◕✿)  
>   
> this one's pretty short but i do have drafts of a longer and more fleshed out pirate/siren story sitting around, so if you like this one stick around i guess. hopefully i can get at least the first chapter out by the end of the month, but ya girl's got anime north coming up next week and a cosplay to finish so who knows lol  
>   
> enjoy!!

"There's something in the water," says Sara by way of a greeting, her eyes shining beneath her crooked bandanna as she hands over the spyglass. Shane holds it up to his eye, peering out at the endless ocean. The midday sun glares down at the world, and its reflection on the water dazzles him momentarily. It's only while he's blinking stars out of his vision that he spots something: a flash of gold among the waves.

"So you see it, too?" When he glances back, a grin has alighted on Sara's features. "I spotted it a few minutes ago. I thought it was just a trick of the light." A few minutes? At their speed, any normal human would get left behind in a matter of _seconds_. If it had been following them for that long... 

He scans the water again, his stomach coiling with anticipation. Could it be? The creature they'd been searching for?

 _There._ A face in the water, inhumanly beautiful, with dark hair and broad, tanned shoulders. Almost as soon as Shane spots the creature, it disappears - but not before he catches a flick of its golden tail. Heartbeat quickening, he thrusts the spyglass at Sara and hollers down to Ned, "Siren sighted, capt’n!"

Shane hops out of the crow's nest, climbing down the ropes as fast as he dares. He needs to see this up close.

The rest of the crew is already at the railings, clamoring for a glimpse of the creature, and Shane is utterly grateful for the genes that allow him to see over the tops of their heads. He cranes his neck, hoping to spot the creature one more time.

A shout from his left alerts him. The siren is there, and it stays still long enough for Shane to register that it is looking in his direction. It vanishes below the waves and resurfaces again, closer to him this time. Shane can feel the weight of its gaze, this beautiful creature with dark hair and darker eyes staring _straight at him-_

And then the siren begins to sing.

He does not recognize the melody, but Shane already knows it will haunt his dreams forever. The siren’s voice makes his heart ache for something he has never felt before.

Shane looks into the siren’s eyes and he envisions what could be. In his mind he sees cold mornings spent curled up sleepily, arms wrapped around the smaller body in his bed; he smells the heavenly, buttery aroma of popped corn kernels; he feels the hot press of summer nights and his lover's bare skin against his; he hears his name being called a thousand times in a thousand different ways.

And suddenly Ned is in front of him, and there are voices shouting and hands pulling him back from the railing that he had nearly flung himself over just to get close to the siren.

"Let me go!" Shane cries, wrestling with his crewmates, but they hold fast. He looks back at the ocean, desperate for another glimpse of the siren, for another snippet of that song, _their song-_

But the siren is gone, and so is the melody and any trace of it as it slips right through the cracks in his memory.

"Shane," says Ned, "Shane, look at me. You're safe now. You'll never see it again, I promise."

And Shane stops struggling, and begins instead to sob. "You don't understand, cap. I almost had him," he whispers, "Almost, almost..."

\--

  
"Do you believe in mermaids?" Ryan asks at work one day.

"No," is Shane's knee-jerk response, is what Shane tries to say, is what rests at the very tip of his tongue. He swallows the word whole, instead opting for a noncommittal grunt as he sips his coffee.

"I think I dreamt about one once," he says, though he is absolutely certain that he did, many times before. "They're supposed to have beautiful voices, right? And they like to munch on their audiences?"

"Those are commonly associated with sirens, actually," Ryan corrects with a smile, "And while mermaids are also supposed to be great singers, it's said that sirens know everything about the past, present and future. Whoever hears a siren's song and survives will gain knowledge beyond their years. That's why Odysseus wanted to hear them so badly in the myths."

"Knowledge beyond their years," Shane echoes contemplatively, "So what, they'll see the future? Sounds a little _fishy_ to me."

Ryan laughs then, his dark eyes glimmering, and Shane smiles into his coffee and ignores the pounding in his chest.

Ryan doesn't bring up mermaids or sirens again, but the topic lingers in Shane's mind as he resumes working. He thinks about the dream he had last night, the same one he used to have as a child. Despite reliving it so many times, he remembers barely anything but dark eyes and a golden tail. He takes another sip of his coffee, and wonders why his heart hurts.

Throughout the day, he finds himself humming a tune that he can't quite place. He thinks Ryan might know it - but Ryan's got his headphones on, probably immersed in research on another murder mystery, and it wouldn't do to disturb him for something so little. Shane probably couldn’t do justice to the melody anyway.

In a fit of nostalgia or something like it, Shane ends up revisiting his Ruining History videos. He chuckles at the Anne Bonny episode, where he had everyone dress up as pirates, but his smile falters when he sees Sara. Her bandanna and the bright look in her eyes give him a strange sense of déjà vu - but something is throwing him off. Maybe it’s the parrot.

Five o'clock rolls around, and as Shane logs off his computer he realizes he hasn't really gotten anything done today. He strikes up a conversation with Ned as they clock out. Ryan leaves ahead of them, one arm wrapped around his newest partner who had popped in to greet him. Shane can't help but stare as they share a kiss. His mouth tastes like saltwater.

 _Knowledge beyond their years,_ Ryan's voice repeats in his head. He scoffs quietly. Nobody can predict the future, he tells himself firmly, and pushes away faint memories of dark eyes showing him what might have been.

"Earth to Shane," says Ned.

"Sorry, capt'n," he replies automatically, and Ned gives him an odd look. Shane manages to laugh it off awkwardly, citing a bad sleep as the cause of his strangeness that day. And if Ned notices the wretched expression on Shane's face, then he is kind enough not to pry any further.

At five thirty, Shane is still sitting in the BuzzFeed parking lot. He stares out the window at the setting sun, until he has to blink stars out of his eyes. Then he sighs and starts the engine, pulling out of the parking lot towards an apartment he knows will be empty and cold.

"Almost," he mumbles idly, and hums a tune he can't remember all the way home.


End file.
